Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis Asks Builders Why Mumbai Homes Are Still Expensive Despite Concessions

At a meeting organised by CREDAI-MCHI, the body representing developers in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis asked builders why real estate prices in Mumbai are on the rise despite the government rolling out multiple concessions. These also include premium reductions for the real estate sector, he said.

“I have a grievance. In the last 10 years, all the things you asked us to do so that housing would become affordable have been done. But after those decisions were taken, housing prices have only gone up and not reduced. You asked us to reduce premiums, it was also reduced, but housing prices did not go down. We thought we shall build the coastal road, Atal Setu, and prices will come down, but after the coastal road was constructed, prices have gone sky high,” Fadnavis told the assembled builders.

In essence, government interventions meant to ease costs are not translating into relief for end buyers.

Why Real Estate Prices Haven't Fallen

For years, developers had argued that high regulatory costs, particularly premiums, levies and clearances have added to the price of housing. The state responded by cutting several of these. 

Consequently, premiums were lowered, and infrastructure projects like the coastal road and Atal Setu were launched with the expectation that new connectivity would open up land supply and bring prices down. Instead, property values in many pockets of the city have surged further.

Economists have also said that demand pressures, speculative buying, and the limited availability of clean land in Mumbai have kept the prices high. 

What Alternatives is the Government Proposing?

Fadnavis has now urged developers to look beyond the saturated island city and suburban corridors into what is being planned as “Third Mumbai” and “Fourth Mumbai”, according to a report by ET Realty.

Third Mumbai is being designed as a knowledge and innovation hub across the Atal Setu, with a focus on edutech and data centres. The government has already earmarked land for a township spread over 150 square kilometres, being developed by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), while CIDCO is handling another township. Twelve foreign universities are expected to set up campuses in the area, catering to an estimated one lakh students, potentially creating a new urban economy.

Fourth Mumbai, on the northern edge of the region around Vadhavan port, is expected to bring a new industrial and logistics-driven ecosystem. 

Fadnavis also called on developers to enter into joint ventures with state agencies to ensure these regions are developed in line with economic needs rather than speculative models.

Can Slum Redevelopment be Accelerated?

Fadnavis also pressed for an urgent slum redevelopment plan. Mumbai’s skyline is ringed by vast informal settlements, and though successive governments have pledged to create a slum-free city, projects have often dragged on for decades.

“If Mumbai is to become slum-free, then generational projects will not help. If the land is cleared in one and a quarter years, the building should be ready in one year. Only then will it be possible to make Mumbai slum-free,” he further said.